


understanding

by nonbinaryezrabridger



Series: stargate trope bingo [5]
Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Gen, don’t copy to other sites
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:21:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23636725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonbinaryezrabridger/pseuds/nonbinaryezrabridger
Summary: Rush and Young get stranded on an alien planet and have to survive both the wilderness and dealing with each other.
Relationships: Nicholas Rush & Everett Young
Series: stargate trope bingo [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1698106
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	understanding

**Author's Note:**

> written for the "stranded on an alien planet" for my stargate trope bingo.
> 
> tw for this story:  
> canon typical threat of death, nonsexual nudity

\-------

Rush and Young step through the gate and onto a forest world. They’re the start of an away team, but as they look behind them, they notice that something’s wrong with the gate. It pulsates unusually, and has a grey, shifting film over it. It’s familiar: it’s the look of a gate being interrupted by a solar flare. Young grabs his radio and raises it to his lips, intending to tell Destiny to stop sending people. Rush throws an arm out and tells him:

“Don’t bother, colonel. It’ll do you no good.”

Young scowls and clicks off the radio before asking:

“Does this mean the rest of our people have time traveled?”

“It’s possible. It’s also possible they noticed the appearance of the gate and stopped sending people through.”

Young does not look inclined to be optimistic. He asks:

“What happens if they time travel? Can we get them back?”

Rush sighs, as if he’s being immensely put upon, but answers the question:

“It depends entirely on what time they’ve traveled to. If it's the past, there’s nothing we can do. If it’s in the near future, they may be able to gate back. But may I suggest that we may have more important things to worry about, like ourselves?”

Young gives him a look and growls:

“It’s always about you, isn’t it.”

Rush sneers and snarls back:

“There’s nothing we can do for them.”

Young sighs and shifts his hold on his gun, scanning the trees around them.

“I hate to say it, but you may have a point. We do appear to be stranded and that is a concern. How long until destiny jumps to FTL?”

Rush checks the watch on his wrist and replies:

“48 hours. Two days for the solar flare to dissipate enough for the gate to function.”

Young adds pessimistically:

“And two days to survive on an unknown planet without backup or an escape route. I don’t like it.”

“Well, it’s what we’ve got. Our first priority should be water. Dehydration won’t kill us in two days, but it could make us very uncomfortable.”

Young nods and begins to head out of the clearing and into the forest. He orders:

“Agreed. Stick with me and keep your head on a swivel.”

Rush mutters a sarcastic “yes, sir” but follows. They tramp through the undergrowth, burrs and thorns catching on their fatigues. Young leads them in a circle around the stargate, only going so far from it, knowing it’s their only hope of getting home. As they are almost completing the circuit, they begin to hear the babbling of a creek. They come upon it and Young crouches on it’s pebbled bank, pulling out a container to test the water with. As he does so, Rush continues to wander along the bank. He’s out of sight--without the Colonel noticing--when Young hears a scream. 

He’s instantly on alert, dropping the water container and grabbing his gun. He looks around wildly, unsure which way Rush went, and yells:

“Rush!”

There comes an answering yell:

“Colonel!”

He begins to run towards the voice, but Rush yells:

“Stop! Don’t come too close!”

Rush slows to cautious walk and finally comes into view of Rush. He instantly understands why  
Rush told him to be careful; the scientist is up to his waist in quicksand and still sinking. Young drops his gun and shouts:

“Okay, don’t move.”

Rush snarks back:

“I knew that, colonel.”

Young huffs out a laugh and replies:

“Glad to hear you’ve still got your snark, even in life or death situations.”

Rush yells back, a hint of panic in his voice:

“How about you shut up and get me out of here?”

There’s real fear on his face; the same fear as when Young had threatened to shoot him after his and Wray’s attempt at rebellion. On the desert planet where they had fought, there had been no fear in his expression, only virulent hatred. But after being left to die, when the colonel threatened his life they both knew there was a real threat to it. Rush was afraid of Young, and with good reason, and it makes Young’s stomach twist as he searches for something to help pull Rush up. Finally he happens across a thick, strong vine, which he’s able to pull off the tree it’s clinging to. He rushes as close as is safe to Rush and throws the vine to him. 

He’s up to his armpits now, but he’s had the good sense to hold his arms up over his head, leaving them free to grab the vine. He grabs on and yells, voice rough and desperate:

“Pull!”

Young does so, throwing his whole body into it. Slowly, Rush begins to slide free of the quicksand. He claws at the solid land around him with one hand, helping drag himself back to safety. He collapses on to solid ground and Young falls to his knees as well. Rush may looks scrawny, but that doesn’t mean he’s light. For a moment there’s silence, filled with only their panting. Then Young moves to Rush’s side and shakes him gently, saying:

“Rush, you’re covered in mud. Let’s get you out of those clothes, you can wash off in the creek.”

Rush pants, head bowed and hair hiding his face, but nods. Young returns to his water testing, treading with more care than before. A few feet down the creek, downstream so as not to contaminate the testing site, Rush strips and settles into the cold water, wincing. Young throws him a glance and asks:

“You okay?”

“We’re stranded, I almost died, and to top it off, this water is freezing. But beyond that, I suppose I am “okay.””

Young just barely resists rolling his eyes at the implied air quotes and says:

“The water’s clean, so at least you can have a drink.”

Rush does so, cupping water in his hands and drinking deeply. As he does so Young walks down to the pile of muddy clothes Rush had left on the bank and begins washing them. Rush looks at him with a hint of surprise but quickly goes back to rinsing the mud off himself. Young finishes washing the clothes and lays them out on the bank to dry. Then he stands and prepares to head off into the forest, informing Rush:

“I’m going to find some firewood so you can warm up.”

Rush nods and goes back to getting the mud out from between his toes, grumbling softly as he does so. Young holds back a laugh and heads into the woods. He settles into an easy routine of locating and picking up the driest wood he can find. Then, he once again hears Rush yell. He goes crashing back to their makeshift camp, gun searching for a target. Rush is standing on the bank, looking a way Young has never seen before: embarrassed. Young can’t help but smile as he asks:

“What happened.”

Rush looks mulish.

“Nothing.”

Young cajoles:

“Rush...”

Rush reddens with embarrassment as he admits:

“There was a snake.”

Young can’t help but laugh. He pounds a fist on his thigh in amusement.

“So you are a human being with silly fears after all!”

Rush quickly turns from embarrassed to enraged:

“A fear of snakes is perfectly reasonable, particularly on an alien planet!”

Young lets his chuckles trail off and spread his arms appeasingly.

“Rush, I was teasing.”

Rush snaps his mouth shut with a click before he growls:

“Just get the fire started.”

He sits down with his back turned to Young, looking miserable, especially considering he’s put his soaked clothes back on. His hair hangs down in scraggly strands and he looks somewhat like a drowned rat. Young bites his lip and gets the fire started. Once it crackles to life, Rush spins around and holds his hands out to it, seeking out the warmth. It’s not that cold on the planet, but the water had been freezing, so he must be cold. Young sets a stack of firewood aside and joins him, sitting by the fire.

The sun begins to set and Young says:

“We’ll stay here tonight, move back to the stargate tomorrow.”

Rush nods and there’s a long silence. Finally Rush seems to hesitate before speaking up:

“Thank you. For saving me.”

Young sighs.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?”

The look in Rush’s eyes is all he needs as an answer.Young buries his face in his hands as his mind swirls with guilt and regret. Finally he looks up to see Rush studying him with those hawk-like eyes. Young speaks:

“I know nothing I do can make up for leaving you on that planet. But I’m going to keep trying to make up for it. ”

Rush sighs.

“You know I won’t forgive you.”

Young nods.

“I don’t expect you to.”

Rush gives him a dark grin and says:

“Then we understand each other.”

With that, he rolls over and turns his back on Young. Young swallows a groan and rubs at his temples, where a headache is starting to form.

\---------

Young wakes up to Rush prodding him. He startles awake the rest of the way and mumbles:

“What’s wrong?”

Then he notices Lt. Scott next to him and can’t help the wave of relief that goes through him. He asks:

“The gate is fixed?”

Scott and Rush nod in unison. Rush explains:

“The solar flare must have dissipated. As for the away team, none of them went through the gate after us, as they noticed that the gate’s appearance had changed. Everyone is safe.”

Young lets himself breath deeply in and out before pulling on his commander’s attitude again.

“Very well. Let’s get back to destiny.”

Scott smiles and leads the way. Young hangs back, watching Rush step through the gate eagerly. They had come to an understanding last night. Young will try to improve their relationship, but he also knows that part of it was broken beyond repair when he left Rush for dead. Still, they should be able to work together, which will be good for the whole of the ship. Satisfied, he steps through the gate.

\--------


End file.
